That's What Makes You Strong
by writerchic16
Summary: An AU version of Report Card. When Professor Crumbs does permanently remove Alex’s powers, she refuses to let her devastation show to her family. Can they convince her that it's okay to lean on them for support?
1. Part I

**That's What Makes You Strong**

Summary: An AU version of Report Card. When Professor Crumbs does permanently remove Alex's powers, she refuses to let her devastation show to her family. Can they convince her that it's okay to lean on them for support?

A/N: Disney was having a WOWP mini-marathon today, and one of the last episodes was Report Card. That episode is one of my favorites (along with "Alex in the Middle"), so I was inspired when Alex came "this close" to losing her powers forever.

Sorry the first part is so short, but it's meant to be a sort of prologue for the story. The rest of the chapters will be longer.

* * *

**Part I**

For the first time in her life, Alex Russo begged.

Oh, sure, there were the times when she was young and she really, _really_ wanted a pony or a trip to the toy store. Or even later, when she wanted more allowance or an extended curfew Yeah, none of those counted.

She didn't know what real begging was until she saw _her_ powers in someone else's hand. Someone else who had the right to take a part of her identity away…forever.

"No, no, no, please don't do this! I've come this far, it's not fair!" Alex pleaded with the old wizard. She felt the disappointed stares of her family behind her, but she was used to that. That she could deal with.

She couldn't live without her powers.

But apparently, Professor Crumbs either didn't know or didn't care. "I'm afraid it is," he replied as he raised his hand to leave. "I shall take your powers and be on my way."

And then her powers were gone.

Alex was frozen. She didn't know what to say, what to do, how to respond. The loss of her powers was like…she lost a leg or an arm. How was she supposed to function?

"No…" she whispered as she hugged herself. She was crumbling.

Her eyes stayed glued to the floor. She didn't, couldn't look at her family. The disappointment and anger she knew would be there didn't bother her. But there would undoubtedly be some pity there now, as they all searched for some comforting words, or the courage to attempt a hug or pat on the shoulder. That she couldn't take.

She wanted to shake it off. She wanted to put on a smile, insult them for acting so serious, and move on. That was the routine whenever she messed up.

But…but she didn't have it in her. The devastation of losing her powers was so overwhelming that she'd lost control of herself. She couldn't get that usual sparkle back in her eye or put on her mischievous grin.

So, she picked her only other option. She ran into the hallway, slammed the door behind her, and sprinted the few steps to her room. There she also slammed the door closed.

Finally alone, she realized there was moisture on her cheeks. She reached up, followed it to the source, and was shocked to find that it came from her eyes.

For the first time in her life, Alex Russo cried.


	2. Part II

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

The title of this fic came from Wynonna Judd's song of the same name. If you search the lyrics and read them, you can see that it really fits this story. It's rare for a song to so perfectly suit my story so I had to point it out.

Also, I figued that the wizard competition is going to take place when Max is sixteen. I'm guessing it's possible for him to be that age by the end of the series if it *hopefully* runs for four seasons, so I'm going with that. It doesn't matter much, but it's mentioned later in the chapter so I thought I'd explain.

* * *

**Part II**

An hour later, Alex was curled up on her bed in the fetal position. She _never_ slept in the fetal position, always on her back, her arms spread out. Then again, she wasn't sleeping. She'd been having the first emotional meltdown of her teenage years. While she knew such occurrences were typical, this didn't feel like it. She wasn't a typical teenage girl.

At least, she hadn't been. _Now_ she was Alex Russo, typical teenage girl.

And she hated it.

This wasn't fair. How could Crumbs do this to her? She was fourteen, for crying out loud! She was supposed to make stupid mistakes! Granted, she knew that turning her parents into guinea pigs required major punishment. But she found them, hadn't she? Everything had been returned to normal within a reasonable amount of time.

The rest of her life shouldn't be ruined because of one spell she cast when she was fourteen-years-old. And, yes, this was the latest in a long line of magic misuse, but that wasn't the issue here.

There had to be something else she could do, someone she could appeal to higher than Crumbs. Did the wizard world have a Supreme Court?

A knock broke the silence of her dark bedroom. "Go away!' she automatically snapped. She didn't want anyone's pity.

"Alex, honey?" her father called. "Your mom sent up some dinner."

Oh, God, they brought dinner to her room. They were treating her like she was sick or something She was right to avoid them. "I'm not hungry!" she shouted.

And she wasn't hungry. She felt like she might throw up at a moment's notice, but she wasn't hungry.

"It's your favorite! Mom made you grilled cheese! With more grilled than cheese!" Jerry tempted.

In response, her stomach actually grumbled, and not in the way that sounded like it was going to erupt. Maybe she was a little hungry. At least, she had room for a crisp, buttery grilled cheese sandwich. "Fine," she replied. She quickly sat up in bed and wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks.

The door opened, and Jerry walked in with a tray in his hand. A glass of root beer accompanied the plate, filled with two sandwiches. "Here you go, honey," he said as he sat next to her on the bed and handed her the tray.

Alex ignored him while she flipped out the tray's legs from the bottom and put it over her lap. Since he came in, she hadn't dared to look at him. "Dad…don't be like this," she said. "If Crumbs hadn't taken my powers, you'd still be angry. Don't act like I didn't do anything wrong."

"But he did, and I can't ignore that," Jerry insisted, and put an arm around her shoulders.

The tears were back. "Then at least tell me I deserved it. I know you think that. You said that before."

Jerry sighed. "I'm sorry. I was mad, Alex. You'd done something totally reckless, and I couldn't get over that you really cast a transformation spell on your mother and I."

"So why are you sorry?" Alex challenged. She just wanted _someone_ to be angry with her. It would be familiar, and maybe make the situation seem not as big as it really was. Because the way they were treating her now, she felt like they had all just found out she had some serious illness. "Let it out. Tell me how wrong I was."

"Why bother, when you already know," Jerry pointed out.

Alex knew he was right and fell back on her pillow. This was all so…foreign, so new. It was maybe the most serious incident in their family history, and it was her fault. Her usually numb conscience was filled with guilt, even a hint of self-loathing. Yes, she did know how wrong she had been, for once. There were waves of different feelings she never experienced, like remorse and concern for her future.

It was all terrifying, and she just wanted it to stop. What she wouldn't give for everything to be back to normal.

"But I'm sorry!" She finally sobbed. "I'm really, really sorry! Doesn't that count for anything? I'm young and stupid and I made a mistake! He's not being fair!"

Jerry hugged her, her head on his shoulder. "Sh, it's going to be alright…"

"You're just saying that," she accused in a muffled voice.

"Maybe I am," Jerry admitted. "But I do know that I've been through this, too."

After she let out a particularly loud sob, she argued, "You _gave up_ your powers. Mine were taken away. You had a choice."

"True," Jerry agreed, then moved her off his shoulder so they were face to face. "But don't you think that was the hardest choice I've ever had to make? When I won the wizard contest, I thought I had my whole life to use magic. Everything was possible. Then I met your mother and…it was _like_ I didn't have a choice. I was devastated when I realized I was too in love with your mother to keep my powers."

Despite the moment, Alex couldn't help but reply, "Does Mom know you were 'devastated' when you realized you loved her?"

"Uh…ah…oh, you know what I meant," Jerry said, then let out a soft chuckle. "See? Losing your powers isn't the end of the world. I managed to survive without them. And honestly, you're probably much tougher than I was when I lost them."

"I don't know if you want to admit that, since you were what, in college by then?" Alex teased. Her father's attempt at a pep talk was actually working, and she was grateful.

"I see you're feeling better," Jerry remarked, amused.

Alex gave him a hug, a slight smile on her face. "A little."

* * *

The next day was Sunday, so Alex woke up around two in the afternoon. She'd spent a restless night thinking about what her life had suddenly become. Only a day earlier she'd been a young wizard, her future full of possibilities and amazing adventure.

Then she became mortal.

Of course, she always knew there was a chance she would lose her powers when Max turned sixteen in two years anyway. Justin had been a lock for the role of family wizard ever since Alex could remember. While she put up a confident front and assured Justin she would win whenever they fought about it, Alex couldn't help but feel a little doubt. After all, you hear something so much, you start to believe it might be true.

Well, at least she'd been saved the disgrace of losing the family wizard competition.

_Snap out of it,_ she ordered herself. Her stomach was rumbling again. A long night of sleep made her hungry. _You can't stay in here, so get over it and smile._

That mantra replayed in her head while she threw off her blanket, ran the brush on her nightstand through her hair, and left her room. _You can do this, you can do this._

She braced herself as she began to descend the metal staircase. The sudden bright light of the main floor startled her for a moment, since she'd kept her bedroom light off and her curtains closed. But still, she managed a barely detectible smile when she reached the bottom of the stairs and faced her family. Her mother and Justin were the only ones there; her father and Max must have been working.

"Hi," she said quietly, her arms crossed, her head down.

The two stared at her with open sympathy. Her brother at least tried not to make it so obvious. His expression was almost blank, but his mouth was slightly open, as if he was just trying to find the right words to say.

But her mother wasn't one for subtlety. "My poor baby," Theresa gushed, then she ran over to give Alex a huge, tight hug. "I'm so sorry, honey," she said, then held Alex at arm's length. "This is not the end of the world, I promise. You'll get through this."

"I know I will," Alex said. She made a concentrated effort to keep as much sadness out of her voice as possible.

"So brave," Theresa replied as she put her hand under Alex's chin. "Alex, honey, you don't have to be brave in front of us. That's what families are for."

Alex pushed her mother's hand away and nodded. "I know that too, but…I'm fine, really. I always knew I could lose my powers, it just happened sooner rather than later."

"Oh, Alex," Theresa sighed. "Well, when you do decide you need someone to talk to, I'm here. In the meantime, you want breakfast? I made French toast for everyone else."

"That sounds good," Alex assured her, and Theresa went to the kitchen. Alex continued into the living room area and fell into the couch next to Justin.

He stared at her with an eyebrow raised. "How are you _really_ feeling?"

"I'm really feeling that…congratulations are in order," Alex retorted. Justin was the last person she would ever talk about her real feelings with. "You're officially the family wizard. Congrats."

"What about Max?" Justin replied, to go along with her playful tone.

Alex replied with a smirk. "Oh yeah, how could I forget, you really have to look out for a wizard that sometimes holds his wand backwards."

"Still, you never know," Justin said with false modestly. But Alex could see that Justin had clearly realized that he would win his powers, and had already started altering his plans for the future, whatever they may be. Finally, he sighed and gave her an apologetic frown. "This isn't how I wanted to win."

It wasn't what she'd expected to hear. She'd expected him to lord his victory over her, to go on about how "the mighty have fallen," and tell her how much she messed up.

"Thanks," Alex whispered.

She gave him a quick, grateful hug. Then they ignored it and turned on the television.


	3. Part III

**Part III**

Magic powers, who needs them?

That was Alex Russo's new motto. After she moped around the loft for a few hours, she decided that she needed to pull herself together. School was the next day, and she couldn't walk around depressed. Harper had already called and texted her about twenty times over the weekend to ask why Alex didn't feel like going anywhere. While she might not have poured her heart out, she would have liked to been able to tell Harper everything that was going on. It was times like these when she wished that her best friend knew her secret.

Well, her family's secret. It wasn't really hers anymore.

First things first, she needed to get rid of her wand – she didn't want to look at it, didn't want to acknowledge its existence. The magical object in her powerless hand, she went downstairs to where her entire family was in the common area since the restaurant closed an hour ago.

"Hey, Dad?" Alex asked when she reached the living room, her wand in both her hands. "You would know this. What are you supposed to do with wands when you don't need them anymore?"

Max glanced back at her from his position on the couch. "Why are you giving away your wand? Crumbs took your _powers_, your wand's fine!"

When Alex gave Max a bewildered look, Justin calmly explained, "Uh, Max, it's a wizard's _powers_ that activate a wand."

"Oh. Sorry, Alex. It…might make a nice decoration for your room?" Max suggested.

"Yeah…" Alex replied with a raised eyebrow, then turned to her father. "So, what, can I just throw the thing out?"

Her father and mother traded worried looks, then both got up from their seats and went to their daughter. "Well, there are programs that take wands from ex-wizards and pass them on to young wizards who need them," Jerry answered. "It'd be better if you did that than just threw it out. But, honey, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah, Alex," Theresa said, concern in her voice. "Maybe I personally don't understand what a wand means to a wizard, but I do know that yours was very important to you. I mean, you started wearing boots so you could take it everywhere!"

Alex shrugged. "It was only important because I could use it. It's a piece of junk now." Of course she was lying, that much was a given. But what would be the point of keeping it, to constantly remind her that she was a failure as a wizard?

Calling the wand a "piece of junk" may have pushed the whole "I am so over losing my powers" attitude a little too far. The strong words were a cue to her parents that she was definitely not okay, because their faces became about ten times more concerned. "Alex, what I meant was, whether you like it or not, your wand has sentimental value," her mother insisted. "Like how I kept the movie ticket stub from one of my first dates with your father, or some of the love notes he wrote me…"

"Yeah! Wait, I never wrote you love notes," Jerry said to Theresa, his tone accusatory.

Her arms crossed, Theresa went on the defensive. "Would it have killed you to write me a love note just once?"

"Don't try to turn this on me! Who's love notes are you hiding somewhere?" Jerry demanded as his anger grew.

Though she was glad her parents were no longer focused on getting her to talk about her feelings, Alex still needed to get rid of her wand. "Hey, um, hi, still here! And still need to get rid of this thing," she said and held up the object in question.

"Here's an idea," Jerry replied, his anger at Theresa momentarily forgotten. He held out his hand for the wand and suggested, "Why don't I hold on to it for you? That way, you don't have to look at it, and if you one day change your mind, you can get it back."

_But it'll still be in the building,_ Alex thought with disappointment. To be honest, she'd rather break it into a million pieces, then throw all those pieces into a giant fire. Her dad's idea would have to do, though. "Oh, fine. Keep it. But I won't want it back."

"Don't say that. I kept mine and gave it to Max, remember? You might to pass it on to one of your children," Jerry reminded her. He paused and glanced at Max. "Then again, that might not be the best idea if you _don't want it to be broken_."

Max turned around and exclaimed, "I said I'm sorry like a million times! Give me a break, it was like six months ago already!"

"I doubt it, but thanks anyway, Dad," Alex said, then slapped her wand in her father's outstretched palm. "I'm going back to my room."

Before she could leave, Theresa asked, "Do you want to watch TV with us, Alex? We'll watch whatever you want!"

"What, no way!" Justin objected. "I'm not watching another episode of _Project Runway_ just so Alex can make fun of everyone!"

Alex made an annoyed face at him, then replied, "Don't worry, I won't interrupt whatever bore fest you're watching on the Discovery Channel. I just want to be alone."

While worried about her, her parents let her go upstairs. When she reached her room, she threw herself on her bed and rolled on her back.

She couldn't believe she managed to give up her wand without even a tear. Her mother was right – that wand _did_ mean a lot to her. It was like her grown-up version of the child's blanket she used to carry around when she was little. Her wand…just having it in her boot gave her confidence and comfort, a reminder of who was and all of her abilities, magical or not.

But now it teased her, taunted her with memories of who she used to be. It had to go.

Along with a lot of other stuff in her room. As Alex looked around, she noticed some other magical items behind furniture or tucked in corners. The Emotoscope she got from Uncle Kelbo was peeking out of her closet, her crystal ball earrings sat on her dresser, and she knew tons of spell books were scattered around on shelves and under her bed.

Alex remembered that the box she kept from when she got her printer a while ago was still in her closet, so she took that out and went to grab whatever magical items she spotted first. She suddenly had tons of junk to throw out.

* * *

Two days later, Alex had almost convinced herself that she was perfectly okay with being a mortal. It wasn't so bad that she couldn't deal with it. After all, she was Alex Russo, the girl who didn't care about anything, and didn't let any problem beat her down.

Unfortunately, the person who knew Alex Russo best wasn't convinced. While Alex worked her shift, Harper sat on a bar stool. She had finally come over to the restaurant uninvited when Alex refused to hang out. It wasn't that Alex didn't want to see her…she simply knew she hadn't yet gotten her cool, calm exterior down pat.

Not that she _wasn't_ calm and cool, of course. She was. She just needed to recover from her little break down on Saturday. And dumping all that magical stuff hadn't been that easy either.

So, really, she'd moved on already. It was all a matter of getting over the initial shock.

"Hey, Harper? Give me a ketchup bottle from under the counter, a table is missing one," Alex said as she passed her best friend on her way to give another table their order. Normally she wouldn't care what any table needed. But work happened to be a great distraction, both from Harper and her thoughts.

When Alex came back from dropping of the order, Harper handed her the ketchup bottle. "Wow, Alex, I've never seen you…actually work. Is something bothering you?"

"Bothering _me_? What makes you say that?" Alex replied, maybe a little too quickly while she delivered the ketchup bottle to the rightful table. She came back to the counter area and sat down next to her friend, in need of a break. "I'm fine, really."

Harper turned to face Alex, her elbows on the counter. "Look, I know _something_ is bothering you. Yesterday or today, we didn't meet between classes, not even before school! You're hiding your problem from me, which I find insulting because we're best friends and supposed to tell each other everything." Harper paused and lowered her eyes. "Unless…you're mad at me for some reason?"

_What? How could she think that?_ Alex thought with disbelief. She guessed it made a little sense, as she only didn't talk to Harper _when_ they were fighting. "Of course I'm not mad at you!" Alex assured her. "It's just…I…alright, something did happen, but it's stupid family stuff. I'm practically over it already, no big deal."

Thankfully, Harper let out a huge sigh of relief – which meant she bought Alex's story. "Oh, good," she replied, then explained, "Oh, not good that something happened with your family, I just was really worried you didn't want to be my friend anymore."

"That will never happen, I promise," Alex said with a reassuring smile. That smile quickly turned to a frown when she saw her father and Justin coming down the stairs. Four o'clock on a Tuesday, time for their lesson. But Alex had a lot to talk about with Harper after their four-day break.. Since she didn't feel like being hassled by her father to stop chatting and get to class, she told Harper, "I have to ask my dad a question, be back in a few minutes."

She hopped off her stool and followed her father and Justin into the kitchen. "Dad, can you give me like ten minutes? Harper and I really need to talk."

Instead of the usual reprimand for skipping out on class, her father traded nervous, hesitant looks with his son. Then Jerry put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Um, honey…you're welcome to sit in, but you don't need to take magic lessons anymore."

"What?" Alex exclaimed, totally bewildered and surprised.

Then it finally hit her. She didn't have powers. There was no reason for her to have wizard training.

Hurt, she shrugged off her father's arm and whispered, "Oh."

"I'm sorry, Alex," Justin said, his eyes not meeting hers.

"Well, that's great!" Alex replied with as much false enthusiasm she could gather. "You know me – why would _I_ be upset about no more wizard training? Have fun stuck in class, Justin. _I_ get to do whatever I want now."

Jerry patted her shoulder. "There's the Alex I know. See you later, honey."

"See you," Alex said.

She watched them go into the lair, then she ran out into the kitchen. Her eyes were getting moister by the second, so she needed to run fast. "H-Harper…" she sputtered when she passed her best friend in the restaurant. "I-I have to go…I'll call later."

Then she dashed up the stairs to the loft, threw herself on the living room couch, and proceeded to sob for at least an hour.


	4. Part IV

A/N: I changed the summary so it fits the story better. The original was written before I started the first chapter, so I felt the story took a different direction than I inteded. I'm still satisfied with how this has come out, but the summary wasn't totally accurate.

Anyway, yeah, I'm kind of on an updating spree with this story. I think I'm just going to keep on writing until I finish, then work on my other stories.

Oh, before I forget, I've been meaning to shamelessly plug my Wizards/Hannah Montana crossover, "Summer of '09." Alex invites Lilly, an old friend from camp, to star for the summer while - unknown to her - Miley as Hannah judges a reality show in New York.

* * *

**Part IV**

Alex was totally confused.

She should have been elated that she didn't have to learn magic anymore. When she had classes, she did everything she could to get out of them.

Instead, there was this sick feeling in her stomach, and the tears wouldn't stop. It didn't make any sense at all. This should have been the one aspect of losing her powers that she actually liked. She should be overjoyed and rubbing it in her brothers' faces that _she_ didn't have to go to class and they did. She was the lucky one, wasn't she?

But she didn't feel lucky.

When she began to hiccup from crying so much, she said in a low whisper, "What's wrong with me?"

There was the noise of someone coming up the stairs. Alex wanted to run up to her room before whoever it was could see her, she really did. But she couldn't find the strength to stop her tears and put on a smile. Her exclusion from wizard training class had her devastated, and she had no idea why.

So she settled for lying flat on the couch, and hoping that whoever it was didn't see her.

Curiosity made her turn slightly to see that it was her mother. Alex wasn't surprised. Her mother usually took a break once the rest of the family got out of magic class, since she had to run the restaurant by herself when they were gone. However, Alex had to hide herself behind the couch even more. She _did not_ want to have to explain to her mother what happened, or why she was upset…which she didn't know herself.

Unfortunately, a loud sob gave her away. Alex held her breath as the footsteps ceased, and she hoped that her mother would dismiss the noise and continue to go upstairs.

That didn't happen. "Alex?" Theresa called softly.

Even though Alex didn't respond, Theresa continued across the loft to see who was on the couch. When she finally reached living room side of the couch, Theresa let out a small gasp at the sight of her daughter's uncharacteristic condition. "Oh, my…sweetie, what happened?" she exclaimed. She moved Alex up off the couch cushions, sat down in the empty space, and gave her daughter a tight hug.

Alex didn't hate it as much as she thought she would. It was almost nice to be comforted when she was this down. "I'm fine' she lied. "I just, uh, didn't get much sleep last night and needed to take a nap."

"Don't lie to me, Alex," Theresa insisted. "I can tell you were crying." As another tear slid down Alex's cheek, Theresa wiped it away. "And you still are. What happened? I go into the bathroom to clean some spilt soda off my shirt, and Harper tells me you ran upstairs after talking to your father in the kitchen."

Though she knew it would sound ridiculous, Alex sat somewhat upright and answer, "Dad said I didn't have to go to wizard training anymore. Yeah, I don't get it either."

"Oh, honey," Theresa replied. There was a brief silence, and Alex could tell that her mother was trying to figure this out herself. "Well…maybe, you actually liked going to class with your brothers, and never realized how much until you didn't have to go?"

"I don't think that's it. I know I hated all that work," Alex assured her.

After some more thought, Theresa suggested, "Do you think, maybe…you feel left out?"

"Me? No, definitely not. I don't care enough about anything to feel left out, so…" Alex trailed off when she realized what she was saying.

As much as she tried to deny it, she _did_ care about her powers. They made her life so much more exciting, not to mention how much she loved to use them to get what she wanted out of any situation. She missed having magic and the wizard world at her disposal. It had been a part of her.

And, though she hated the classes themselves, training made her wizard identity that much more prominent. Maybe she didn't like the work, but deep down she had to confess that she did like the quality time with her father and brothers. Magic classes were the two times a week when they all fully embraced their magical heritage, even her father. It was something to which they could all relate.

But all that was gone. Alex knew she could never view magic in the same favorable light she did a week ago. Her own father had the choice of giving up his powers, and even _he_ had some resentment towards it. How could Alex ever talk about magic again when she had her powers taken away against her will?

There was a rift now, between her and her brothers…maybe even her father too.

Quiet while Alex thought, Theresa finally spoke. "Alex, honey?"

"It's not the same," Alex said. There was a jumbled mixture of sadness, anger, and loss in her voice. "It will _never_ be the same, will it? Dad, Justin, Max and I…we had this huge thing in common, and it's not there anymore. I don't fit in to their world, and it hurts so much…" Then a proverbial light bulb went off and she glanced at her mother with newfound understanding. "_That's_ why you hate magic so much, isn't it? You feel left out."

"Oh, I…" Theresa replied, surprised at the sudden turn to her own feelings about the subject. "I always thought it was because it was what almost tore your father and I apart. It didn't seem fair that I couldn't be with him just because he had magic and I didn't…" She trailed off and sighed. "I don't know, Alex. Maybe you are right on some level."

They each sat on the couch for five minutes or so, Theresa's arm around Alex's shoulders each lost in their thoughts about the shift in their relationship, the new bond they shared. Eventually Theresa gave her daughter a quick hug and said, "Alex, if you want you can take the rest of the day off. I better get back downstairs though, we're getting close to the dinner rush."

"Okay. I'm probably just going to hang out and watch TV," Alex replied, while her mother nodded in understanding that her daughter needed some time alone. When Theresa got up to leave, Alex said, "Thanks, Mom. And not just for the day off."

"Any time, honey. I'm here for you whenever you need me," Theresa replied with a smile, then began to go downstairs.

Her arms around her bent knees, Alex watched and waited for her mother to leave before she whispered, "I know."

* * *

Life without magic would take some adjustment. Alex could admit that. While she could continue to wallow in her denial of her real pain, she couldn't ignore that some aspects of her life automatically changed.

For starters, her appearance was taking a beating. Though her parents forbade her to use magic for the small things, Alex of course had ignored them. Her morning routine used to begin with casting her acne spell, since at this age, she was prone to tons of pimples. Then she would use a spell to have her make up appear on her face as if a Hollywood make up artist had done it. Finally she would use magic to create the perfect hairstyle.

Well, her ten minute morning routine was history. The first couple of days, she struggled with using a brush and hairdryer to style her hair, or getting her make up to even resemble how the spell used to do it. Both tasks were impossible.

To make the whole situation worse, she could see the hint of a pimple on her chin.

Frustrated with the whole process – especially since she hated any kind of work –Alex ignored it and went to school the whole week with no make up and her hair as-is Her clothes had actually been wrinkled too. Being a somewhat messy person, she had cast a "wrinkle remover" spell on her dresser and closet. The spell must have been cancelled at the loss of her powers, because every clothing item she wore looked like it had been crumpled into a ball.

Naturally, people talked. Alex heard whispers, saw students and even teachers glance her way. From what Harper told her, they were all concerned that Alex was depressed or something. Harper then confessed that she was wondering also.

The worst part was that Alex couldn't even shrug it off. Her usual tough exterior had been broken by the loss of her powers, and she walked around school in a distracted fog. Gone were the sarcastic comments, the attitude she was known for. At the very least, she still had her uncaring outlook, so the rumors and the whispers didn't bother her at all.

But the weekend brought a chance to get out of her funk with some quality best friend time. Harper had demanded that Alex go to the Creature Feature Confidential that night. While Alex hadn't been up for socializing during the week, she was so sick of her zombie-like behavior that she readily agreed to the outing

Though she wasn't ready to give her new morning routine another try. After she took a shower and got dressed on Saturday morning, Alex ignored the make up on her desk, threw on whatever halfway decent outfit she could find, and went downstairs to the loft. "Good morning," she greeted.

"Afternoon, you mean. It's one ' clock already," Jerry replied. He did a double-take at his daughter. "But it's nice to see you in a better mood."

That made Alex pause, since she was pretty sure she'd acted okay enough not to worry her family. "What do you mean?"

"We meant to tell you, Mr. Larritate called yesterday to ask about signing you up for meeting with the school's guidance counselor," Theresa explained, her voice and expression full of concern.

When her brothers glanced at her from their position on the couch, Alex hesitated as she came up with the right thing to tell everyone. "I…I'll admit I was a little shaken up this week, but I'm fine now, really. I'll be so back to my old self by Monday that everyone will wonder if they just imagined I was any different."

"I hope so," Jerry replied, also worried. "Because if Mr. Larritate calls again, I might sign you up for a session with a wizard therapist."

The thought that she would have to talk to a stranger about her feelings for a whole hour horrified her. "N-no, that's okay, you don't need to, I swear!"

Her parents shrugged at her response, then went back to their conversation, something about if they should start having daily specials at the restaurant. When Alex started to go to the living room to watch TV, Justin jumped up, grabbed her arm, and pulled her towards "Come with me."

"What? Justin, where are you taking me?" Alex demanded. She followed him downstairs through the restaurant and into the kitchen. He then went to open the lair. "The lair? I don't have any reason to go in there now, remember?"

"Just trust me,' Justin insisted. He ran into the lair and began to pace.

Alex slowly walked in and stopped about a foot past the chalkboard. "Justin! What do you want?"

"Alright, Alex…" Justin trailed off, unsure how to continue. "Look, you want your powers back, right?"

The question shocked her. This whole week she'd been so overwhelmed with her denial of her feelings on the subject that she never thought to come up with a way to get them back. To be honest, she didn't think there was one. "I…guess. If I could."

"Alex, now is not the time to be your uncaring, 'cool' self," Justin retorted, with air quotes around the word "cool." "Do you want your powers back, yes or no?"

_What's going on?_ Alex thought in confusion. Though she didn't want to admit to Justin, of all people, he sounded so urgent that she could only reply with honesty. "Yes, yes, I want my powers back," she whined as she flopped down on the sitting area chair. "They were _my_ powers! I need them! I…I'm not really me if I'm not a wizard. Justin, if you can get them back, please…"

"That's all I needed to hear," Justin interrupted, relief on his face. "Come on, we're leaving now."

"To where?" Alex asked. But instead of answering, he grabbed her arm again with one hand and cast a transport spell with the other.


	5. Part V

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You're all great, and I'm so glad people liked this!

I'll leave you with another couple of shameless plugs:

Plug 1: Again, please check out my Wizards/Hannah Montana crossover, Summer of '09!

Plug 2: Follow me on Twitter! I'm writerchic16 there too. But you should also join not just because of me – Selena, David H., Jake, Jennifer, and show creators Peter Murrieta and Todd J. Greenwald all update their Twitter accounts daily. I follow Todd's and Selena's, especially Todd's since he'll often have trivia questions or caption contests.

With that, enjoy the last part and thanks again!

* * *

**Part V**

They appeared in front of a large, dark wooden door at the end of a long hallway. Alex recognized it instantly.

"Justin, take me home," Alex demanded in an even but angry voice. What made him think she wanted to be there at all? "Take. Me. Home. Now."

Undeterred by her threatening tone, Justin was calm as he explained, "Alex, I know you don't think so, but Professor Crumbs can be reasonable. If we plead your case, he might give you your powers back."

The door led to Professor Crumbs' office, in the biggest turret on the Wiztech castle. Alex had become very familiar with it in the few weeks she was there for the summer, especially after she saved Justin from Dr. Evilini when she skipped class as often as she could. After her powers were removed, she never thought she would see this door or Wiztech ever again.

And she didn't want to. While she had mostly dealt with her own loss, she was still plenty furious at the headmaster for causing it. "No, Justin, I can't face him. I'm too mad at him for what he did to me. And he's probably so disappointed in me that he won't even let me in."

"I know for a fact that he will let you in," Justin replied, then slightly lowered his eyes.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Okay, on Tuesday when you couldn't go to class with us…" Justin explained, a little nervous. "I could tell you were upset. Then I heard Mom telling Dad about how much you were crying, and…I don't remember the last time you cried. You even had me fooled, Alex – I thought you didn't care about anything. But as much as you complain about wizard training, your powers are actually very important to you. Maybe…maybe even more than they are to me." The moment becoming too emotional, he cleared his throat. "S-so, I contacted Professor Crumbs, and told him what a mess you were without your powers. He agreed to give us a chance to change his mind."

The heartfelt words left Alex speechless. After all her determination not to let her family in to her true feelings, they knew anyway. She tried to be the cool one who always got her way and kept them all at a distance, but they all saw through her act. So…what was the point of having an act in the first place?

She'd have to think about that.

Her head down, she crossed her arms and asked, "Justin, after all the teasing and torture I put you through…why? Why did you do this for me?"

"Because you're my sister, and…" Justin answered, then stopped.

Alex knew why he didn't continue. They had an odd relationship…they hated each other on the surface, but deep down they cared about each other because, well, they were siblings. It went unsaid. And she knew both of them would prefer to keep it unsaid.

In unison, they both shook their heads and pretended to cough. "B-Besides," Justin said. "I figured I owed you for the whole Dr. Evilini thing. And the wizard competition isn't going to be nearly as satisfying if I just beat Max. I've been looking forward to destroying you in that competition since the day you got your powers."

"Please, you should be sending Crumbs thank-you notes for taking my powers, because by the time I'd be done with you, you'd be saying a tearful good-bye yours," Alex retorted, a smug look on her face.

Justin scoffed. "You wish."

Then they smiled at each other in understanding.

"Well, we better get in there," Justin said, and they turned toward the door. He took out his wand, muttered, "Beard combing, " and the door opened.

"_Beard combing_?" Alex asked out of curiosity.

As he tucked his wand back in his jeans, Justin explained, "Yeah, you need a password to get in, and well…you know how much Professor Crumbs loves his beard."

"I've never needed a password," Alex said while they began to walk up the stairs.

"Probably because you're usually being dragged in against your will," Justin retorted with an amused grin. They continued up the spiraling stairs to the office. "Professor Crumbs? It's Justin and Alex Russo!" Justin called when their footsteps were close enough for the headmaster to hear.

"Ah, yes, I've been expecting you," Professor Crumbs' out-of-sight voice replied.

Alex was a little anxious as she followed Justin in. They said their greetings to the old wizard, and at his insistence, each took a seat in one of the two comfy club chairs across from the headmaster's desk.

Much to Alex's humiliation, Professor Crumbs gave her a surprised once-over and looked at her with sympathy. "Oh, my, I see that losing your powers has certainly taken its toll on you, Ms. Russo. You seem a little pale."

"No, I'm fine…" Alex began, then caught her brother's warning glance and remembered his words – this was not the time to be cool. "I-I…I haven't been doing well, I guess. Losing my powers was really…really…" Alex paused to take a deep breath and slowly let it out. "It was hard, Professor. The hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my whole life."

"It has, Professor," Justin added. "I've never seen her so upset. She really cared about her powers. And you know what, I want her to have them back too. They make me a better wizard, because I always have to fix whatever magical chaos she causes. We help each other."

Professor Crumbs nodded, then clasped his hands on the desk and looked directly at Alex. "Why should I give you back your powers, after you blatantly misused them? Turning your parents into guinea pigs is no small offense, Ms. Russo."

"She understands that and she's very sorry…aren't you, Alex?" Justin prodded.

Though the answer should have been an easy one, Alex needed a moment to prepare herself. She _never_ apologized, never. That would be admitting that she was wrong.

But in this case, there was no getting around it. She knew she messed up, more than she ever had before. She let down her parents, who always supported her and surely did not deserve to be turned into guinea pigs. It had been a mistake made while she was panicking, sure, but still a mistake.

No matter what excuses she made, what she did was wrong.

So she braced herself and made eye contact with the headmaster. "I am. I am really sorry. What I did was reckless and stupid, and nothing like that will happen again. Please, Professor Crumbs, let me have my powers back."

* * *

Alex Russo was restored.

She hopped through the portal into the lair ahead of her brother, a real smile on her face for the first time in a week. After some further discussion about how wrong she had been, and promises made that she would treat magic with more respect, Professor Crumbs agreed to let her have her powers back.

But while she was thrilled to be a wizard again, she had changed in the short time without her powers. This whole incident taught her that she did have to be careful with magic, and make sure never to push the privilege too far. And yes, she _did_ have a new understanding, that magic _was_ a privilege that could be taken away.

That wouldn't stop her from using her powers as she pleased, of course. She just had to keep it down to a small scale. Like making sure her skin stayed free of any pimples.

Alex touched her chin, and sire enough that one pimple had grown. To break in her powers, she zapped up a mirror, then pointed at her face and chanted, "Jolovits Rid-of-zits." The pimple, and any hints of other acne that had developed, instantly cleared up.

"You have your powers back, and the first spell you cast to get rid of a zit? You're unbelievable, Alex."

Though she knew it was an insult, Alex sighed with contentment. Everything was back to normal. "I know." She then closed the compact mirror and zapped it up to her room. "It's _so_ good to have my powers back. That zit was driving me crazy."

Justin shook his head. "Like I said, unbelievable. Come on, I guess you're dying to tell Mom, Dad and Max that you've got your powers back."

"Yeah…thanks to you," Alex replied. At his shocked look, she surprised him further by giving him a quick hug, which he returned. After she'd told him how much her powers meant to her, there was no way she could get away with not saying thank you.

Then they pretended nothing happened and continued up to the loft.

"Mom, Dad?" Alex called when she ran up to the loft, where her family still was relaxing. They opened the restaurant later on the weekend to make up for the extra hours they stayed open at night.

Jerry jumped up from the couch, and Theresa came from around the kitchen island. "Where did you two go?" he demanded. "When Max said you both ran out of here, we started to worry."

"I got my powers back!" Alex blurted. At her family's baffled looks, she added, "Justin did it! He got Professor Crumbs to reconsider and we went to Wiztech to talk to him." To prove it, she zapped the wrinkles out of her clothes and magically styled her hair, two other items she'd been meaning to do in the ten minutes she'd had her powers.

Her family's mouths opened in shock, almost simultaneously. Max was the first to recover. "What, that's bunk! I was finally going to be able to get you back for putting plastic wrap on the toilet seat last week!"

Justin raised an eyebrow and glanced at his sister. "Isn't that a little amateur for you?"

"Yeah, but it's a classic," Alex replied, and laughed at the memory. She then calmed down and turned to her still-quiet parents. "Well? Aren't you happy for me?"

Though a little hesitant, Theresa smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's great, honey. I'm glad Professor Crumbs decided to give you a second chance."

Alex figured her parents wouldn't be too thrilled. While she would've been unhappy as a mortal, she would've also been easier to manage. So she accepted their lack of enthusiasm and hugged her mother anyway. "Thanks, Mom, for everything."

When she broke apart from her mother, Alex turned to her father. "Well, Dad?"

Though he wasn't overjoyed, Alex could tell he was genuinely happy for her. "Come here, kid," he said, then wrapped her in giant hug. One arm still around her shoulders, he patted his son's shoulder. "And I'm proud of you, Justin, for helping your sister…when I knew it would have been more beneficial not to."

"Thanks, Dad," Justin replied, a smile on his face.

Jerry then broke away from the group and headed for the stairs. "Alex, I'm going to get your wand…" Alex's face lit up. "…so that you can start practicing all the spells you missed during the week. Be right back."

"Sure, Dad! I'll start practicing right away…" Alex called, then smirked at her family. "In his dreams. Some things about me will _never_ change."

Again, Justin shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"You know it," Alex replied with a wink. Then she zapped up her purse – much to her mother's disapproval – and left the loft to go hang out with Harper before the movie.

* * *

_"If you love somebody_

_Then that means you need somebody_

_And if you need somebody_

_That's what make you weak_

_If you know you're weak_

_Then you know you need someone_

_Oh, it's a funny thing but_

_That's what make you strong."_

-Wynonna Judd, _That's What Makes You Strong_


End file.
